Juvic withstands tough condition, hikes lead to two

SILANG, Cavite  , Philippines  —    Juvic Pagunsan took the best that the elite field could dish out and withstood the worst that the Langer course could offer as he came out of brutal conditions hiking his lead to two despite a 72 halfway through the ICTSI Riviera Classic here yesterday.

Howling winds and pelting rain forced even the long hitters to take 2-club adjustments in tackling each hole with Pagunsan, a noted strong finisher even in the most challenging situations, yielding two strokes on the par-4 18th that marred his one-over 35-37 card.

“I played solid in the first 17 holes until it was spoiled by a double bogey on the last,” said Pagunsan, who dumped his drive on the fairway bunker on the par-4 closing hole, played out and overshot the green.

“I played pretty well. My good putting, iron and short game were in place. But strong winds and rain caught us at the back nine,” added Pagunsan, whose two-under 140 total proved enough to net him a two-stroke lead over Dutch Guido Van der Valk, who stumbled with a 72, and the charging Tony Lascuña and Japanese Takahashi Keisuke, who fired identical 70s that proved to be the norm in a day of survival at one of the country’s toughest championship courses.

The troika had identical 142s with Clyde Mondilla, the reigning Philippine Open champion, coming through with a rare eagle-3 on No. 16 to at least soften the impact of his double-bogey and bogey mishaps on No. 11 and 13, respectively. He saved a 72 for solo fifth at 143.